Philippines to seek 'peaceful approach' with China over ship collision

The Philippines will pursue diplomacy over military action in response to rising maritime tensions with China including considering new agreements to manage air and sea encounters, the National Maritime Council said on Tuesday.

“Because if we would be going beyond a diplomatic or peaceful approach, you can just imagine, maybe if you’re referring to more kinetic [military] actions, that would not be to the best interest of our country and of China and even in the region,” Alexander Lopez, the newly appointed presidential palace spokesman for the council, said in his first press briefing.

The briefing took place a day after Philippine coastguard vessels were damaged when they collided with Chinese coastguard vessels near the contested Sabina Shoal inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone early on Monday morning – the latest in a series of similar clashes in the disputed waterway.

Manila and Beijing have traded accusations about the other party being at fault for the latest incident, which caused damage to two Philippine vessels but no reported injuries. A Philippine military spokesman said the collision was caused by the “dangerous and illegal manoeuvres” of the Chinese coastguard.

When Lopez was asked whether the government would respond beyond the usual diplomatic protests to counter China’s latest actions, the retired navy vice-admiral said the diplomatic approach was “in line with the President’s directive”.

The former military commander overseeing operations in the West Philippine Sea said: “We can never go wrong by using this diplomatic and peaceful approach. And we are compliant with the [Asean] Code of Conduct that we have signed in 2002 that among others, parties will exercise restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or even escalate the dispute in the area, among others.”

He also said the Philippine coastguard has been ordered to gather evidence from Monday’s collisions and proper documentation for a possible filing of diplomatic protest by the foreign affairs department.

“The Philippines will continue to uphold its rights and jurisdictions in the West Philippine Sea, and protect its territory and maritime zones from environmental degradation and other illegal activities,” said Lopez, referring to the part of the South China Sea considered by the country as its maritime territory.

Lopez also floated the idea that the foreign affairs department could negotiate with China for an extension of the current provisional arrangement allowing the Philippine military to conduct resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated ship serving as an outpost on the Second Thomas Shoal.

“Maybe [such an arrangement] could also be extended to other areas in our maritime domain,” he said. He added that the foreign affairs office was studying this possibility and “whether it would merit coverage of maybe a bigger area or maybe the entire [West Philippine Sea].”

China claims 90 per cent of Manila’s maritime domain through its so-called nine-dash line, which a 2016 ruling by an arbitral tribunal in The Hague declared as a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. One of the 157 signatories of Unclos, China ratified the convention in 1996.

Lopez’s comments echoed that of government officials calling for a broader bilateral agreement to manage the territorial row.

In a radio interview, Philippine coastguard Commodore Jay Tarriela suggested that Manila and Beijing should negotiate a new agreement covering the entire West Philippine Sea.

Tarriela said: “We are once again hoping and praying that China will eventually realise that this bullying – unlawful acts they are doing – of course with the pressure from the international community, would again compel China to join us in the negotiating table so we can have a proper dialogue.”

Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo told Congress during a budget hearing last Tuesday that an expansion of the agreement with Beijing on Manila’s resupply missions was “certainly an interesting idea”.

National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya said in an interview with ANC TV on Tuesday that the National Maritime Council should consider formulating with China some guidelines to manage air encounters.

He made this suggestion one week after a Chinese air force plane fired flares in the path of a Philippine air force plane near the contested Scarborough Shoal.

He told ANC TV that Asean defence ministers in 2018 agreed to work towards adopting multilateral guidelines for air encounters.

“For example, in the case of the air incident over the Bajo de Masinloc [Manila’s name for Scarborough Shoal], the use of flares is not standard among friendly nations. So the use of flares in the flight path of a Philippine air force aircraft could be considered a hostile act,” Malaya said.

China has justified its use of flares in the incident as an exercise in defending its maritime sovereignty.

More countries have voiced support for the Philippine position over its maritime row. In addition to statements from Japan and the US, Germany, France, New Zealand and Australia have expressed concern about the latest incident.

The Japanese embassy said in a statement that it was “seriously concerned over the recent aggressive conduct causing damage to the Philippine vessels. Any harassment and actions which increase tensions or disturb navigational rights are not tolerated. Japan stands with the Philippines by upholding rules-based order and peaceful settlement of disputes based on international law.”

The two ships that were damaged in Monday’s collisions were the first ever modern, multi-role response vessels acquired by the Philippine coastguard in 2018 under an official development assistance loan administered by the OECD.

US State Department principal deputy spokesman Vedant Patel issued a statement saying: “The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its coastguard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”